Electrical exercising apparatus.



a W. C. SGHAUFLER. ELEGTRIGAL EXERGISING' APPAEATUS.

APPLIGATION PILED JULY 9,1908.

Patented Oct. 26, 1909.

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W. C. SCHAUFLER. ELEGTRICAL EXERGISING APPARATUS.

APPLIQATIOH FILED JULY 9, 1908.

Patented Oct. 26, 1909.

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ELEGTRIGAL EXERGISING APPARATUS.

APPLIGATION PILED JULY 9,1908.

Patented 0011. 26, 1909.

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WALDERMA C. SGHAUFLER, OF AMSTERZDAM, NEW YORK.

ELEGTRICAL EXERCISING APPARATUS.

Specfication of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 26, 1909.

Application filed July 9, 1908. Serial No. 442329.

T o all whom 'it may concern;

Be it known that I, VVALDERMA C. SCHAUFLER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Amsterdam, in the county of Montgomery and State ofNew York, have nvented certain new and useful Improvements in ElectricalExercising Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to electrical exercising apparatus.

One of its objects is to provide means for producing currents ofelectricity through the body or limbs of the operator, combined withmeans for physical exercise another object being to avoid the use of theweights which are usually employed, another object being to simplify andimprove the Construction of an apparatus of this type.

;Other ob ects will be in part obvious and in part pointed outhereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of Construction,combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which.

will be exemplied in the construction hereinafter set forth, and thescope of the application of which will be indicated in the followingclaims.

In the accompanying drawings, there is shown an illustrative embodimentof the invention, in which the reference numerals refer to similar partsin the several figures.

Figure l is a perspective view of the apparatus ready for use. Fig. 2 isa front elevaticn of the same, with the casing removed, parts beingshown in section for the sake of clearness. F ig. 3 is a top plan Viewof the apparatus. Fig. 4: is a diagrammatic representation of thevarious circuits. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed View of the automaticcircuit closing means, and Fig. 6 is a sectional View of the elasticcord, showing in part an elevational view of the inner covering.

In the illustrative embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, 1and 2 indicate the handles which are made of conducting material, inorder to serve as electrodes for conveying the current to the hands ofthe operator. Attached to these handles are elastic cords 3 and 4:,which consist of rubber or other similar material 5 provided with aplurality of coverings, the outer covering 6 being preferably ofnon-conducting material, and the inner covering comprising one or moretortuous strands of electrical conducting material 7 so arranged as topermit the elastic cords to be extended and retracted without danger ofsaid strands being ruptured, and these strands are in electrical contactwith the handles. As the parts which coperate with each of these cordsare similar in all respects, those relating to one cord only will bedescribed, the same reference numeral being used to designate similarparts in both instances. From the handle the cord leads over guidepulley 8, which is mounted on a bracket 9, provided with an extension 10which is slidably mounted within the sleeve 11, which may be supportedupon a suitable bracket 12 Secured to the base 13 of the apparatus. Thefree end of the extension 10 engages with the free end of the springcontact 14, which is preferably Secured to the bracket 12 as shown inFig. 5. When the parts are in their normal positions, the free end ofthe spring contact is out of engagement with its coperating fixedcontact 15, and holds the pulley and its bracket in their raised orupper positions as shown in Fg. 5. When the apparatus is being used, thepressure eXerted by the cords upon the pulleys will force them intotheir inner or lower positions, at the same time forcing the free end ofthe spring contact into engagement with its coperating fixed contact, asshown in Fig. 2, to close an electric circuit for the purposehereinafter to be described.

After passing over the guide pulley, the cord passes through a suitableopening in the casing, and then passes around a plurality of groovedpulleys 16 17 and has its other end Secured to a suitable insulatingsupport 18, which may be supported by the bracket 12. The groovedpulleys are constructed of non-conducting material, and one of them as16 carries upon its outer surface a series of contacts 19 arranged aboutits center in the circumference of a circle. Bearing upon the outersurface of the pulley and in the line of travel of the Contacts 19,carried thereby in order to be engaged therewith as the pulley rotates,are a pair of spring contacts 20-21, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. Asuitable source of electricity 22, such as a dry cell, is preferablymounted upon the base and has one of its poles, connected by wire 23with the wire 24-, the ends of which are in an electrical connectionwith the spring contacts l t. The other pole of the cell is connected bywire 25 to one end of the priinary coil 28 ot' the induction coil 27,which is also preterably mounted upon the base. The other end of theprimary coil is connected by a wire 28 with a wire 29, the ends of whichare connected with the member 20 of each of the pairs ot contacts 20 21,the other member 21 ot' each of said pairs ot contacts being connectedby wires to the fixed contact members 15. 'Une end ot the secondary coil31 of the induction coil 27 is connected by a wire 32 with the conductor7 contaned within the elastic cord 4-, and the other terminal ot saidsecondary coil is connected to the wire which leads from the battery tothe primary coil. wire 33 connected with wire 29 leads to the conductor7 contained within the elastic cord 3, all of these connections beingindicated in the diagrennnatic representation illnstrated in Fig. 4,.

The operation ot' the device will now be explained. hen the apparatus isnot in use, the spring Contacts 14 will as stated above occupy theirnormal positions ont of contact with the fixed Contacts 15, thusproviding a` positive break in the primar-y circuits, irrespective otthe relative position of the traveling Contacts 19 with respect to theireoperating pair of spring coutacts 20-21. Vhen the operator grasps thehandles :for the purpose ot exercising, and pulls thereon, the guidepulleys S will be 'forced into their power positions, as abovedescribed, thereby forting the spring Contacts 14 against the fixedContacts 15 to complete the battery circuit atthese points. As the cordsare extended and retracted during the operation of the apparatus theywill, cause the pulleys 16 and 17 to rotate, and as the pulleys 16,which carry the Contacts 19, rotate, these Contacts will pass beneathand contact with their coperating pair of spring contact members 20 -21,thus causing the primary circuit to be made and broken, the currentflowing over the following path beginning with the battery 22, wire 23,wire 24:, spring contact member 14 fixed contact member 15, wire 30through each ott the contact members 20-21, which at that instant willbe electrically connected by means of one of the Contacts 19, and thenby wire 29 to wire 28, thence through the primary coil 26 and bacl* tothe battery by wire 25, there being a corresponding path closed by thetraveling contacts upon the other pulley. As the circuit is made andbroken a current will be induced in the secondary coil in the well-knownmanner, which current will flow over the following path beginning withhandle 2, thence through the electric condnctor 7 contained within theelastic cord et, then by wire 32, to one terminal of the secondary coil31,

through said coil to the wire thence through the primary coil 28, wire28, wire 25), wire 33, to the cond'icting member 7 contained within theelastic cord to the handle l this circuit oti" course being completedthrough the body or linibs of the person exercising. The induction coilis provided with the nsual core S t, which may be withdrawn or insertedthei-ein, in order to produce a stronger or weaker current in thesecondary coil as desired in the well-known manner.

As many changes could be made in the above Construction and manyapparently widely ditt'erent embodinents of this invention could be madewithout departing froni the scope thereof, it is intended that allinatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a linitingsense. It is also to be understood that the language used in thefollowing clainis is intended to cover all of the generic and specificfeatures ort' the invention hei-ein described and all statements of thescope ot' the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said tofall therebetween.

Having described iny invention what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is:

In an electric exercising apparatus, in combination, an exercising cord,a source of electricity, a circuit thcrefor, a plurality of circuitcontrolling devices in said circuit, and a plurality of means foractuating said circnit controlling devices, each oil? said means beingoperatively cngaged by said cord whereby when tension is applied to saidcord said circuit controlling devices will be actuated.

2. in an electric exercising apparatus, in combinatiou, an oxercisingcord, a guidepulley coperating with said cord, a bracket supporting saidguide-pulley a sleeve within which said bracket is slidably mounted, anda cireuit controlling device adapted to be operated by the movement ofsaid bracket when tension is applied to said cord and to cause saidbracket to assume its normal position when said tension is removed.

In an electric exercising anparatns, in combination, elastic cords,compising electrcal conduct-ing means, guide pulleys cooperating withsaid cords, brackets supporting said guide pulleys, sleeves within whichsaid brackets are slidably mounted, and circnit-controlling devicesadapted to be operated by the movement of said brackets, when tension isapplied to said cords, and to cause said brackets to assume their normalpositions when said tension is removed.

4. In an electric exercising apparatus, in combination, elastic cords,comprising electrical conducting means, guide pulleys cooperating withsaid cords, brackets supporting` said pulleys, sleeves within which said1 brackets are slidably mounted, fixed contact members adjacent each ofsaid brackets, spring` Contacts coperating with each of said fixedcontact members and normally out of contact therewth, said springcontacts normally engaging with the said brackets to hold them in theirnormal positions and adapted to be moved into engagement with said fixedcontact members by the movement o' said brackets.

5. In an electric exercising apparatus, in combination, cords comprisingelectrical conducting means, movably mounted pulleys coperating withsaid cords, rotatable members with which said cords engage wherebymovement thereof will rotate said members, a source of electricity, aninduction coil, a circuit between said source of electricity and saidcoil normally open at two points, means controlled by the movement ofone of said pulleys to close the circuit at one of its normally openpoints, and means controlled by one of the rotatable members to closethe cirouit at the other of its normally open points.

6. In an electrio exercising apparatus, in combination, elastic cordscomprising electrical conducting means, movably mounted pulleyscoperating with said cords, rotatable members with which said cordsengage whereby movement thereof will rotate said members, a source ofelectricity, an induction coil, a circuit between said source ofelectricity and said coil normally open at two points, means controlledby the movement of one of said pulleys to close the circuit at one ofits normally open points, and means controlled by one of the rotatablemembers to close the circuit at the other of its normally open points.

7. In an electric exercising apparatus, in combination, cords comprisingelectrical conducting means, movably mounted pulleys co- Operating withsaid cords, rotatable members with which said cords engage wherebymovement thereof will rotate said members, a source of electricity, aninduction coil, circuits between said source of electricity and saidinduction coil normally open at two points, means controlled by themovement of said pulleys to close each circuit at one of its normallyopen points, and means controlled by said rotatable members to closeeach oircut at the other of its normally open points.

8. In an electric exercising apparatus, in combination, elastic cordscomprising electrical conducting means, movably mounted pulleyscoperating with said cords, rotatable members with which said cordsengage Whereby movement thereof will rotate said members, a source ofelectricity, an induction coil, circuits between said source ofelectricity and said induction coil normally open at two points, meanscontrolled by the movement of said pulleys to close each circuit at oneof its normally open points, and means controlled by said rotatablemembers to close each circuit at the other of its normally open points.

9. In an eleotrical eXercising apparatus, in combination, a base,elastic cords having one end secured thereto and comprising electricalconducting means, members rotatably supported upon said base with whichsaid cords engage, pulleys slidably mounted upon said base adapted toguide said cords, a source of electricity, an induction coil, circuitsbetween said source and said coil, each of which is normally open at twopoints, means controlled by said pulleys to close said circuits at oneof their normally open points, and means controlled by said rotatablemembers to close said circuits at the other of their normally openpoints.

ln testimony whereof I ax my signature, in the presence of twowitnesses.

VVALDERMA C. SCHAUFLER. lVitnesses:

JOHN H. GiLns,

CLARENOE O. WILsoN.

